Text 13769, 317 rader
Skriven 2005-06-27 08:45:35 av John Hull (1:379/1.99)
     Kommentar till en text av Alan Hess
Ärende: Flag
============
26 Jun 05 17:00, Alan Hess wrote to Jeff Binkley:

 AH> Whilst masticating on <Jun 26 05>, Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
 AH> wrote to Alan Hess:

 AH>>>You're right - we do need to amend the Constitution to stop those
 AH>>>thousands of flag burning incidents we see each year.  <snort>  
 AH>>>This amendment idea pseudo-patriotism to attract the small minded.

 JB>> Exactly.  Liberals are always wanting to take away my rights.  I 
 JB>> am happy to take this one away from them.

 AH> I'm sure you'll be among the first to support a Constitutional 
 AH> amendment banning the ownership of handguns, because they're 
 AH> involved in thousands of violent crimes every year, right? 

 AH> Local fire ordinances already make it illegal to burn a flag (or 
 AH> anything else) in most, if not all, places where a protestor who 
 AH> would want to burn a flag would select to do so.  There is 
 AH> absolutely no need for this amendment.  It's feel good nonsense 
 AH> for pseudo-patriots.  *adh*

There's nothing in the Constitution about flag burning being a right.  Either
as political speech or anything else.

Following is what the US Code says about it.


U.S. Flag Code (4 US Code 1)

Displaying the Flag
Previous to Flag Day, June 14, 1923 there were no federal or state regulations
governing display of the United States Flag. It was on this date that the
National Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference which was
attended by representatives of the Army and Navy which had evolved their own
procedures, and some 66 other national groups. This purpose of providing
guidance based on the Army and Navy procedures relating to display and
associated questions about the U.S. Flag was adopted by all organizations in
attendance. 

A few minor changes were made a year later during the Flag Day 1924 Conference.
It was not until June 22, 1942 that Congress passed a joint resolution which
was amended on December 22, 1942 to become Public Law 829; Chapter 806, 77th
Congress, 2nd session. Exact rules for use and display of the flag (36 U.S.C.
173-178) as well as associated sections (36 U.S.C. 171) Conduct during Playing
of the National Anthem, (36 U.S.C. 172) the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag,
and Manner of Delivery were included. 

The code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. It
does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag. That is left to
the states and to the federal government for the District of Columbia. Each
state has its own flag law. 

Criminal penalties for certain acts of desecration to the flag were contained
in Title 18 of the United States Code prior to 1989. The Supreme Court decision
in Texas v. Johnson; June 21, 1989, held the statute unconstitutional. This
statute was amended when the Flag Protection Act of 1989 (Oct. 28, 1989)
imposed a fine and/or up to I year in prison for knowingly mutilating,
defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor or trampling upon any
flag of the United States. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was struck down by
the Supreme Court decision, United States vs. Eichman, decided on June 11,
1990. 

While the Code empowers the President of the United States to alter, modify,
repeal or prescribe additional rules regarding the Flag, no federal agency has
the authority to issue 'official' rulings legally binding on civilians or
civilian groups. Consequently, different interpretations of various provisions
of the Code may continue to be made. The Flag Code may be fairly tested: 'No
disrespect should be shown to the Flag of the United States of America.'
Therefore, actions not specifically included in the Code may be deemed
acceptable as long as proper respect is shown. 

The following information is taken from Title 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF
GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES - of the United States Code Chapter 1 - THE FLAG -
as provided on the Internet by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell
University School of Law. 

Sec. 1. - Flag; stripes and stars on 
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate
red and white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars, white in a blue
field. 

Sec. 2. - Same; additional stars 
On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the
union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of
July then next succeeding such admission. 

Sec. 3. - Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag 
Any person who, within the District of Columbia, in any manner, for exhibition
or ensign of the United States of America. 

Sec. 4. - Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery 
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the
United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all., should be rendered
by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.
When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and
hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform
should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute. 

Sec. 5. - Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of rules and
customs; definition 
The following codification of existing rules and customs pertaining to the
display and use of the flag of the United States of America is established for
the use of such civilians or civilian groups or organizations as may not be
required to conform with regulations promulgated by one or more executive
departments of the Government of the United States. The flag of the United
States for the purpose of this chapter shall be defined according to sections 1
and 2 of this title and Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto 

Sec. 6. - Time and occasions for display 
(a) It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset
on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a
patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if
properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. 
(b) The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously. 
(c) The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement,
except when an all weather flag is displayed. 
(d) The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on New Year's Day,
January 1; Inauguration Day, January 20; Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday,
third Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, February 12; Washington's
Birthday, third Monday in February; Easter Sunday (variable); Mother's Day,
second Sunday in May; Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May; Memorial Day
(half-staff until noon), the last Monday in May; Flag Day, June 14;
Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, first Monday in September; Constitution
Day, September 17; Columbus Day, second Monday in October; Navy Day, October
27; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November;
Christmas Day, December 25; and such other days as may be proclaimed by the
President of the United States; the birthdays of States (date of admission);
and on State holidays. 
(e) The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main administration
building of every public institution. 
(f) The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on election
days. 
(g) The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every
schoolhouse. 

Sec. 7. - Position and manner of display 
The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags, should be
either on the marching right; that is, the flag's own right, or, if there is a
line of other flags, in front of the center of that line. 
(a) The flag should not be displayed on a float in a parade except from a
staff, or as provided in subsection (i) of this section. 
(b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a
vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a
motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the
right fender. 
(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level,
to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church
services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be
flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. No
person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or
international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or
honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the
United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in
this section shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore
followed of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior
prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal prominence
or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the headquarters of the
United Nations. 
(d) The flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed with another
flag against a wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag's own
right, and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other flag. 
(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the
highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or
pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs. 
(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are
flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should
always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag
of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or
pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United
States flag's right. 
(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from
separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal
size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above
that of another nation in time of peace. 
(h) When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff projecting
horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a
building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak of the staff
unless the flag is at half-staff. When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk
from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, the
flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the building. 
(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union
should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's
left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way,
with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street. 
(j) When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be
suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street or
to the east in a north and south street. 
(k) When used on a speaker's platform, the flag, if displayed flat, should be
displayed above and behind the speaker. When displayed from a staff in a church
or public auditorium, the flag of the United States of America should hold the
position of superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the
position of honor at the clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces the
audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the
clergyman or speaker or to the right of the audience. 
(l) The flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony of unveiling a
statue or monument, but it should never be used as the covering for the statue
or monument. 
(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for
an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be
again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the
flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top
of the staff. By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff
upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the
Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their
memory. In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries,
the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential
instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices
not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a present or former
official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United
States, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that
the National flag shall be flown at half-staff. The flag shall be flown at
half-staff 30 days from the death of the President or a former President; 10
days from the day of death of the Vice President, the Chief Justice or a
retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of
Representatives; from the day of death until interment of an Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court, a Secretary of an executive or military department, a
former Vice President, or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession;
and on the day of death and the following day for a Member of Congress. The
flag shall be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that
day is also Armed Forces Day. As used in this subsection - 

(1) The term ''half-staff'' means the position of the flag when it is one-half
the distance between the top and bottom of the staff; 
(2) The term ''executive or military department'' means any agency listed under
sections 101 and 102 of title 5, United States Code; and 
(3) The term ''Member of Congress'' means a Senator, a Representative, a
Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.

(n) When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the
union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered
into the grave or allowed to touch the ground. 
(o) When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in a building with
only one main entrance, it should be suspended vertically with the union of the
flag to the observer's left upon entering. If the building has more than one
main entrance, the flag should be suspended vertically near the center of the
corridor or lobby with the union to the north, when entrances are to the east
and west or to the east when entrances are to the north and south. If there are
entrances in more than two directions, the union should be to the east. 

Sec. 8. - Respect for flag 
No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the
flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State
flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of
honor. 
(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal
of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property. 
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the
floor, water, or merchandise. 
(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and
free. 
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It
should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to
fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue
above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering
a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in
general. 
(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a
manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way. 
(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling. 
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor
attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or
drawing of any nature. 
(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding,
carrying, or delivering anything. 
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner
whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or
handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or
boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising
signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is
flown. 
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.
However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel,
firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents
a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel
flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. 
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting
emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by
burning. 

Sec. 9. - Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag 
During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is
passing in a parade or in review, all persons present except those in uniform
should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart.
Those present in uniform should render the military salute. When not in
uniform, men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at
the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should stand at
attention. The salute to the flag in a moving column should be rendered at the
moment the flag passes. 

Sec. 10. - Modification of rules and customs by President 
Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States
of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or
additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by the Commander in
Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he deems it to be
appropriate or desirable; and any such alteration or additional rule shall be
set forth in a proclamation.

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© 1995 - 2005, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

If there is to be a prohibition against burning a flag in protest making it a
criminal offense, then a Constitutional amendment is the only proper way to do
it.


John 

America:  First, Last, and Always!
LIBERALS AND DOGS KEEP OFF THE GRASS!

--- Msged/386 TE 05
 * Origin:  (1:379/1.99)